| Don't speak English? Don't bother coming to Nashville! |
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January 13, 2009 Next Tuesday, Nashville, Tennessee could become the largest US city to ban government use of any language other than English. Civil rights groups, business leaders and even the local mayor are against the proposition. So how has the idea reached referendum level?  Like most cities in the US, Nashville
official business is currently not restricted to any one language, meaning that
residents can communicate with the state in any language they have translation
services available for, if necessary. Metropolitan councillor Eric Crafton
however, has lobbied the local government for a referendum on restricting the
choice to English only. He believes, after himself managing to learn fluent Japanese
while in the Navy in Japan,
that immigrants too should adopt the language of their host country. Although
there are thirty states in the US
with English as the compulsory language, all major cities provide translation
services. Nashville, known as the "Athens of the south"
for its diverse population, would be the largest city to cut these. Crafton
collected 5,500 signatures to warrant the referendum, which he says will unite
the city's inhabitants and save money on translation services. But critics say
the election itself is costing more than a hundred years' worth of the services,
and will jeopardise the human rights of immigrant families and refugees. Crafton
however, is not convinced.
He hopes to spread the concept
throughout the United States
("like a domino effect") where over 1% of US citizens do not speak
English at all.
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